


Rise Up From the Ashes

by FriendlyNeighborhoodIronMan



Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017), The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Avengers Family, Domestic Avengers, M/M, Not Canon Compliant, Peter Parker Needs a Hug, Peter Parker Whump, Protective Tony Stark, The Avengers Are Good Bros, Tony Stark Has A Heart
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-21
Updated: 2019-01-26
Packaged: 2019-10-13 17:21:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,294
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17492093
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FriendlyNeighborhoodIronMan/pseuds/FriendlyNeighborhoodIronMan
Summary: After a car crash leaves Aunt May dead, Peter is taken in by Tony Stark, who begins to realize exactly how much the kid means to him. When it is revealed that Peter is Tony's biological son, Tony is faced with tough questions to answer. Will he tell Peter that he is his father? Can he be a good father figure for Peter?Meanwhile, Peter adjusts to his new life in the Tower, and despite his grieving for May, gradually begins to see Tony as a father figure. But does Tony feel the same way? Not to mention, his life gets more complicated when Deadpool, aka Wade Wilson enters his life, showing up during his patrols and making life feel more normal.Not Infinity War/Civil War compliant: meaning all the Avengers are still friends and Tony never sold Stark Tower. (Changed title)





	1. Shatter

Peter was slouched in the car seat, berating himself for letting this happen. If he was just a little more careful and hadn’t paraded around his room with his suit on, May wouldn’t have found out. How could he have been so stupid? May had initially been too shocked and angry to be truly disappointed in him, but now that she had calmed down, she wanted to talk about it. Peter almost wished she would just keep yelling at him. They were currently on their way to a coffee shop because May had said she couldn’t deal with this without coffee.

After a thick and awkward silence, May finally spoke. “I know it’s...hard to communicate. And I’m sure you don’t want to be reporting everything to your aunt, but I just want to help you Peter.”

“I know,” Peter mumbled, staring at his feet. “I didn’t want to make you worry.”

May laughed drily. “Worry? Peter, it’s my _job_ to worry. I worried about you all the time before you were Spider-Man.”

“I know,” Peter said again. He couldn’t find the words to explain everything to May. He hadn’t even intended for her to find out about Spider-Man in the first place, and everything he had hid from her was coming back to haunt him, guilt churning in his stomach.

“I mean, how could I not worry? You were sneaking out at night and coming back at ungodly hours, you constantly had bags under your eyes to the point where I thought you were turning into a raccoon, and Tony Stark showed up at our apartment to meet you out of the blue! After Ben...” May trailed off. She cleared her throat and continued. “At least if you had told me the truth, I’d have an explanation for everything that was going on.”

Peter felt miserable. “It’s just, patrolling and being Spider-Man and helping people out was important to me. And-and I was afraid you were going to take that away.”

“That’s not entirely off the table.” Peter looked up at that, eyebrows furrowed.

“But May—”

“No buts. If you start patrolling again, it’s going to be when I give you permission, and with a set of ground rules.”

May looked back at him, her expression softening.

“That said, the last thing I want for you is for you to stew over this and let it eat away at you. Don’t get me wrong, I’m still mad. But I don’t want you to hold everything in. I just want you to talk to me.”

“Okay,” Peter agreed softly, looking out the window. Suddenly, his spidey sense started tingling in the back of his head, causing him to hurriedly look around for the source of the danger. Then, he saw it, a driver who had clearly had too much to drink, and was currently careening down the road, heading right for them. “Uh, May?”

“Yes, Peter?” May asked, focused on the car tailgating them behind her. The car was quickly approaching the car, Peter unbuckling his seatbelt and reaching to open the car door.

“May, watch out!”

His spidey sense sent piercing warning bells through his head just moments before he felt the force of the impact. His side exploded in pain as he was thrown to the other side of the car. He groaned, pinned under the car door that had caved in and landed on top of him.

“May?” he croaked out, but there was no response. He craned his head so he could see the front of the car, the motion setting off fireworks in his neck. He saw her slumped in the driver’s seat, clearly unconscious. No, no, no, no, no... “May! Can you hear me? You need to wake up!” Despite his pleas, May remained unmoving in the seat. Peter forced himself not to think about what-ifs. He couldn’t afford to do that, not now.

He tried to heave the door off of him, but to no avail. Were his powers not working? He had lifted an entire building off of himself before for Christ’s sake. Why couldn’t he just get this damn door off? To his dismay, darkness began to cloud his vision, and he could feel his consciousness slipping out of his grasp. “May...” he called once again before the darkness consumed his world, leaving him only with thoughts of May.

 

He opened his eyes slowly, which took a surprising amount of effort. For a moment, he thought he was back in his bed and May finding out about Spider-Man and getting into a car crash had been a strangely vivid nightmare. But the room was too dark, and the blanket was too thin and scratchy. His heart fell as he realized it had all been real.

He jolted upright and attempted to leave his bed, but was stopped by the IV currently stuck in his arm. He was about to yank it out when a nurse walked in.

“You’re awake. You should be back in bed. The doctor said you should be good to go, you’ll be released today.” Something about the nurse’s gentle, cautious tone bothered him.

“What about my aunt? Is she okay? Can I see her?” The nurse hesitated, giving Peter a sad look.

“I’m sorry. Your aunt passed away as soon as she got to the hospital. There was nothing we could do for her. The doctor said her death seemed instantaneous, it is very unlikely she felt pain as she died.” Peter felt his heart and his world shatter, and he involuntarily fell back on the bed. “I’m so sorry, honey.” He felt numb, like he was watching himself from a distance. May was gone. Just like that. He could vaguely hear someone trying to talk to him, but it sounded like he was underwater. Drowning. Again.

Someone lightly shook his shoulder and he snapped back to reality, shakily focusing on the nurse, who was looking worriedly at him. “—Is there any relative you can call? Your parents? A grandparent, maybe?” Peter shook his head. The nurse looked at him pityingly, and it made him feel sick. “What about a friend’s parent? Any other trusted adult?”

Peter could think of one person. Maybe Mr. Stark could pick him up and drop him back off at his apartment. He supposed if any situation counted as an emergency, it was this one. “Yeah,” he said quietly. The nurse looked relieved. Probably made it less complicated for the hospital.

“What’s their name, sweetie?”

“T-Tony Stark.”

 

Meanwhile, Tony was walking out of a meeting, rubbing his temples. Meetings were never his favorite pastime, to say the least, and this one in particular almost made him wish he hadn’t stopped drinking. His phone buzzed in his pocket, and he pulled it out, fully ready to decline the call. It was an unrecognized number, which was weird because he almost never gave out his personal cell. Too much time with Pepper had rubbed off some responsibility on him, he supposed, and he answered the call with a groan.

“Tony Stark speaking. Who is this, exactly?”

“Oh, Mr. Stark!” The person on the other line seemed surprised that he had picked up, but they quickly settled back into a professional tone. “This is Midtown Hospital? We received a patient named Peter Parker earlier today and he said that you were his only emergency contact, but we weren’t sure if—”

Tony felt his heart stutter. “Is the kid okay?”

“Oh, yes, um, he should be fine.” Again, that tone of slight disbelief. “He and his aunt were in a car crash but the doctor cleared him for release today. We need an adult to pick him up.”

“I’m on my way. Make sure he doesn’t leave that building with anyone else.” He hung up before the receptionist could respond, hurriedly making another call.

“Tony? How’d the meeting go?” Pepper asked through the phone.

“Sorry, Pep, but I don’t have time. I need you to cancel all of my meetings for today.”

“What? Tony, you know I can’t do that.”

“Please, Pep, this is an emergency!” Tony all but shouted into the phone. He knew he would pay for that later, but at the moment, he couldn’t care less. “It’s the kid. He and his aunt got in a car crash. I have to go pick them up at the hospital.”

“Oh my god. Is he okay?”

“So they say. But I want to have Bruce run some more checks on him to see if he’s fully healthy.”

“Got it. I’ll cancel all your meetings for today, but keep in mind this is a one-time thing.”

“You’re a godsend. Thanks, Pepper,” Tony said, hanging up. He had practically run all the way to the garage during the phone call, and he jumped into the nearest car, speeding out of the tower—he didn’t have time to call Happy right now. He didn’t want to admit it, but his hands shook all the way to the hospital. Images of Peter, bleeding out on the highway kept flashing through his mind and made his heart beat faster, but he forced himself to stay calm. He didn’t like how much he was being affected by this incident, but he’d deal with that emotional mess later. Right now, he had to focus on Peter.

Miraculously, he made it to the hospital without getting pulled over for speeding and burst into the building.

“Mr. Stark, wh-what can I do for you?” the receptionist asked.

“My kid,” he said shortly. _His_ kid? Since when has Tony called him _his_ kid? “Is he okay?”

“Are you referring to Peter Parker, sir?”

“Yes, who else?” he snapped.

“I’ll take you right to him,” she said meekly, standing up. He followed her anxiously to Peter’s hospital room, opening the door and walking in.

Peter was sitting on the hospital bed, his brown hair messed up and sticking up every which way, and ugly looking bruises peppered on his skin. He looked dazed and distant. Simply put, he was a wreck. Someone cleared their throat, and his attention snapped to the door, where a woman with a cleanly pressed pantsuit and stern gaze walked through the door.

“Mr. Stark, it has come to our attention that this boy has no living relatives left. If no one steps up to be his legal guardian, he will have to be put in foster care.” Peter looked up suddenly at this, and his gaze shifted to Tony in shock, as if he had just noticed his presence in the room. “We can discuss options...”

“Wait. Hold on. What are you talking about? What about his aunt? Where is she?” Tony asked, though he had a sinking feeling he already knew the answer.

“May’s dead,” Peter interrupted quietly. “She’s dead, Mr. Stark.”

“Oh, kid...” Tony trailed off. He didn’t quite know what to say. He had been a wreck when his parents died, and his relationship with them had been...complicated to say the least. He couldn’t imagine what the kid was going through right now.

“As I was saying, there are several options for foster care. Would you like to review them?”

At this, Peter’s expression turned from distant to desperate, the full force of his gaze focused on Tony. “Please, Mr. Stark, I don’t—I can’t—I can’t go live with some random strangers.”

Even before Peter had said a word, Tony knew he couldn’t do that to the kid. “No one is going into foster care. I’ll be his legal guardian. You can call my lawyers to discuss the details. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I think Peter needs some rest at...” Tony caught himself; it felt a bit weird to say ‘home’. “...somewhere out of the hospital.”

Tony ignored the woman’s noise of protest as he helped Peter up from the bed. “C’mon, kid. Let’s get you out of here.”

The car ride to the Tower was mostly silent. Tony periodically checked up on the kid in the backseat, feeling uncomfortable at the normally chatty kid falling silent. He cleared his throat. “Kid, I’m going to take you back to the Tower so Bruce can run some checks on you, okay? And then we’ll discuss things from there.” The kid nodded, but stayed silent. Tony didn’t push him.

They finally arrived at the Tower, and Tony helped him out of the car. Peter stayed silent all the way through the trip to the med bay, and Tony was beginning to wonder if he felt uncomfortable with Tony becoming his guardian. Tony couldn’t blame him. After all, who would want a recovering alcoholic and egotistical playboy for a guardian?

Peter finally spoke then, snapping Tony out of his thoughts. “Thank you, Mr. Stark, for picking me up. I’m sorry if I interrupted anything important.”

Tony felt his heart swell. It wasn’t a feeling he was used to, and frankly, it made him a little scared. He cleared his throat. “You didn’t interrupt anything, kid. And call me Tony.”

“Okay, Tony.”

They reached the med bay, Bruce greeting them at the door.

“Who’s...?” Bruce gestured to Peter, who mustered a small wave.

“You mind if I tell him, Pete?” Tony asked, Peter giving a small nod in return. “This is Peter Parker. He’s Spider-Man and my protégé.”

Bruce blinked, but Tony knew he wouldn’t push in front of the kid. “Nice to meet you, Peter,” he said kindly. Tony had told him what happened over text earlier, so Bruce just cut to the chase and took his vitals. As he looked at the results, his eyebrows shot up.

“What?” Tony asked, worried. “Is he okay?”

“Yeah, yeah, he’s fine,” Bruce said distractedly. “He’s perfectly healthy, just...I was surprised by his enhanced DNA.” Tony didn’t buy it, but bit his tongue.

“Peter, Brucey says you’re all good to go. I just need to discuss something with him. Do you mind waiting for me on the bench over there?”

Peter nodded, walking over to the bench on the other side of the med bay.

“What’s the real reason you were surprised?” Tony asked softly. He knew Peter might hear him if he spoke too loudly—spider powers and all that.

“Tony...the kid’s DNA matches yours.” Tony fell silent in shock and disbelief.

“You mean...”

“Yeah, Tony. He’s your son.” Tony felt his head spin with the new information, glancing over at Peter. The accident had only solidified the thought that had been nagging him for months—he had grown attached to the kid, despite his best efforts. _His_ kid. His _biological_ kid. Holy shit.

“Are you going to tell him?” Bruce asked.

“I don’t know,” Tony said honestly. “You know my old man was a bastard. I don’t want to tell him and have him be disappointed.”

Bruce pressed further. “He might get mad if you don’t and he finds out later.”

“I know that,” Tony snapped. He took a breath. “I’m sorry, I just—I have a lot to think about right now.”

“No, I get it. Just...keep what I said in mind. And I know I’m not Wanda, or a psychologist, or something, but you’re different from Howard. You won’t necessarily—”

“Okay, Brucey-bear, that’s enough. You’re starting to cross a line there.” Tony said, only half-joking. Bruce looked at him meaningfully. “Fine,” Tony sighed. “I’ll think about it.”

One thing was clear. He wasn’t about to let some random people take in Peter, he was going to be his guardian. For better or for worse.

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the self-indulgent Irondad/Spiderson fic I've always wanted to write. If you enjoyed this chapter let me know! Feedback is always appreciated and helps inspire me not to abandon fics. Thank you for reading!


	2. Conversations

Peter waited patiently on the bench while Tony talked to Bruce. It was slowly hitting him that he had just met one of his greatest idols—Bruce Banner, the most renowned scientist of the generation. And he had barely felt a twinge of excitement, where before, he would have been stumbling over his words in his hurry to talk to Dr. Banner. He briefly wondered if some part of him had irreversibly changed, if there was a part of him he could never get back. He wondered if anyone would miss it.

He glanced back over at Tony and Bruce, wondering what they were talking about. Tony seemed...Peter wasn’t quite sure how to put it, but he didn’t seem happy. Were they talking about him? Peter worried at his lip, realizing for the first time what he had just asked of Tony. Peter bet Tony felt burdened with him. Even with May and Ben, he had always secretly worried if they hadn’t wanted to take him in, if they wished he wasn’t in their lives. Tony wasn’t even related to him, and had Peter thrust into his life.

He suddenly felt a tap on his shoulder, and he looked up to see Tony standing there. Tony must have finished his conversation while Peter was lost in thought. He stood awkwardly next to the bench, as if he was suddenly unsure of what to say.

“Is... everything okay?” Peter asked.

“Oh. Yeah, kid, you’re perfectly healthy. With your enhanced healing, those bruises should clear up in a day or two. Bruce did say you should probably get some rest though. No web-slinging for a while.” Peter nodded; he had been expecting that. He honestly wasn’t quite sure if he wanted to go patrolling again any time soon. Spider-Man had always been an outlet for him to help people, to feel like he mattered. But he had ended up hurting the one person left who had loved him unconditionally. Tony gently nudged his shoulder. “C’mon kid, you look like a mess. Let’s get you to your room so you can get cleaned up.”

His room? Almost as if he had read Peter’s thoughts, Tony said, “I’ve prepared a room for you on the Avengers’ penthouse on the top floor. Next to my suite.”

“You didn’t have to do that,” Peter blurted out of habit. He babbled, “I mean, like, you’ve already done so much for me and picking me up at the hospital was enough, and to be honest, I thought you were just going to drop me off at the apartment, and we don’t even know if this is going to be a permanent arrangement, and—”

“Whoa there, Pete, slow down.” Tony interrupted. Peter fell silent, embarrassed that he had started rambling. Tony’s gaze softened. “Of course, this is permanent. I meant what I said back there in the hospital. I’m going to be your legal guardian.” He backpedaled. “That is, if you’re fine with it, of course.”

Peter thought about it. He still felt bad about giving this responsibility to Tony. The man hadn’t asked for him, and Peter was always more of a mentee to him more than anything, but Peter didn’t have anyone else he could ask. Ned already had four siblings; he couldn’t possibly ask Ned’s family to add yet another hungry mouth to their household. Tony had always been a good mentor to him. If it weren't for him, Spider-Man would still be some guy in a homemade suit on the streets. Besides, Peter supposed he could stay out of Tony’s way and not bother him too much. All the guardianship meant was that Peter wasn’t going to be taken away by Child Protective Services. There was no way anyone was going to be able to take May’s place, and he wasn’t about to _let_ anyone take her place, but he guessed he could trust Tony to take care of him. “Yeah, Mr. S—Tony. I’d like that.”

Tony smiled, albeit a little awkwardly, as if the action was unfamiliar to him. He quickly cleared his throat, straightening up. “Well, that takes care of that,” he said, clapping his hands together. “Here kid, this is your room. My suite is just next door if you need anything. I’ll be back in a few with some food.”

Peter stepped into the room. It was very plush and designed to be comfortable as possible, but was pretty bare. He berated himself for thinking that way; Tony had taken him in and given him his own room. But there was no trace of Peter or May—it made him feel like an outsider. It just wasn’t home.

He knew he should probably take a shower or something, but now that he was in his room and out of the hospital, he felt exhausted. He got into bed, cringing at the thought of his dirty clothes touching the clean sheets, and tried to go to sleep.

However, his mind refused to cooperate. Every time he closed his eyes, all he saw was May in the front seat, slumped over. May in a hospital bed somewhere, skin unnaturally pale, her ever-present smile nonexistent. May, dead. Because of him. He hated himself for being so selfish, for thinking of himself even in May’s death, but all the things he had lost hit him suddenly and with no warning. His hectic, everyday schedule had been filled with May in each and every nook and cranny, and now, everything would be empty. There would be no more movie nights, no more Chinese on Thursdays, no more comforting hugs, or shoulders to cry on.

The dull ache and disbelief he had felt initially gave way to piercing, unrelenting sadness, and with it, the horrible realization that this was all his fault. If he had been more careful about keeping his identity secret, there would have been no reason for May to have been on the road at the same time as that driver. If he had come clean as soon as that damn spider bit him, if he had warned her faster, if he had managed to stop that car, she wouldn’t have been dead. The more he thought about it, every single decision he had made over the past few months had been stupid. He had so many chances to save May, but he took all the wrong steps and all the wrong turns and now he was alone and May was dead.

Once the tears started falling, he couldn’t stop them, and his quiet sniffles turned into ugly sobs. The door opened, and Tony burst in. Peter couldn’t even bring himself to feel embarrassed about looking like this in front of his mentor. There was no room for any other emotion in his heart except pain and guilt.

Tony wordlessly sat next to him on the bed. He said nothing at first, but then Peter felt himself being pulled into a hug. He sobbed into Tony’s shoulder, who began rubbing soothing circles into Peter’s back. “It’s okay, kid. I’ve got you.”

The tears finally ran out, and Peter sniffled one final time, wiping his nose on his sleeve. Now that he wasn’t crying anymore, he felt pathetic. Tony probably thought he was pathetic too.

“I know you...probably feel conflicted right now, like you don’t know what to feel. It was like that for me when my parents died. But kid, I need you to know that there was nothing you could’ve done.”

“That’s not true,” Peter said quietly. “It was my fault she died. It was my fault she was on that highway on the first place. She...she found out about Spider-Man. We were driving to a coffee shop so we could talk about it.”

“Peter, how could you possibly have known there would be an accident on that road? You need to stop blaming yourself for what happened.”

“Well, I can’t help it, okay?” Peter burst out. Tony’s eyes widened briefly. Once he began talking, he couldn’t make himself stop. “It isn’t even just this! This is just the shitty cherry on top of my already shitty life! If I had never been born, Uncle Ben would still be alive, and he and May would be living happily together. I’m responsible for everything that’s happened to them. It’d be better for everyone if I were dead.”

“Don’t talk like that,” Tony said calmly. He looked sad, and something about it made Peter even more riled up. “I know you feel guilty, Peter, but—”

“What the hell do you know? What gives you the right to, to lecture me? How do you know it wasn’t my fault?” Peter yelled. There was a tense silence, and a small part of Peter was devastated that he had ruined yet another relationship. Maybe it was for the best that Tony wouldn’t want to put up with him anymore. At least he wouldn’t be a burden to anyone else.

“You’re absolutely right.”

“What?” Peter asked dumbly.

“I don’t have the right to tell you what to feel, or how to grieve. But your aunt wouldn’t want you blaming yourself for what happened to her. And at the risk of sounding sappy, Peter, you are a genuinely good person. I can’t say that about most of the human population. I can’t read minds or see the past, but,” he hesitated. “I’m sure if your aunt had to do it over again...she’d still choose you.”

There was another silence. Peter sniffled. “I-I’m sorry for yelling,” he said eventually, looking down at his feet.

“That’s okay,” Tony answered softly.

“And for getting snot all over your shirt,” Peter added.

Tony smiled. “Yeah, no, you’re paying for that.”

Peter snorted softly despite himself, falling back onto the bed with a thump.

“You need to shower before taking a nap though,” Tony said, whisking the blanket off of him. Peter groaned, reaching up to grab the blanket. He felt a sudden pang of fear—fear because he could feel himself starting to feel hopeful again. He looked at Tony, whose eyes were twinkling despite the large bags under them as he held the blanket out of reach. Maybe...maybe this could work.

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed! I know this was a little shorter than the first chapter, but I wanted to get something posted because the next chapter has a few more plot points in it and is going to be longer as a result. Also: I don't actually know how many siblings Ned has in canon, but hopefully that doesn't detract from his characterization at all. Feedback is always appreciated! Thank you for reading.


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